Lead Like an Ally: Real Stories V

Real stories from those that lead like allies.

Storysharing is a critical part of being an ally. Women leaders bravely speak up for themselves and share their stories. My years of speaking and training on the topic “Lead Like an Ally” for women in leadership, has led to accumulation of what I call the “tales from the trenches.”

Here is a behind the scenes story that a woman leader shared with me after reading my book…

I realized my manager interrupts me…

I decided to do something about it.

I went to his office, asked him to go for a walk, and said, ‘I want to talk to you about something and it is hard for me to share, yet we have a lot of trust in our relationship, and I want it to be even better…you interrupt me.’

It was silent for 10 seconds, then, he turned and said, ‘why haven’t you told me this before…I had no idea…please let me know if I do that.’ It took a few times to call him out on it, eye glaring worked well, and he has improved a lot.

Story from: Next Pivot Point workshop participant

Coincidentally, shortly after sharing this story, this woman leader was promoted and given a substantial pay increase.